In 2017, Kentucky Football paved the way for college stadiums sponsored by grocery stores when Big Blue Nation’s beloved Commonwealth Stadium was renamed Kroger Field. Since going Krogering, the Wildcats are 30-12 at home, with four new bowl game trophies added to the display case during that span.
Seeing Kentucky’s success, today, the University of Tennessee announced it will blatantly copy the Kroger Field model by naming the Vols basketball arena, Thompson-Boling, to Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. The Vols’ tie to the supermarket chain is obviously a copycat effort to bring more basketball wins to Knoxville, as Kroger did for Mark Stoops’ program some six years ago.